


in that same familiar way

by OzQueen



Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Childhood Friends, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Reunions, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 08:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1091597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OzQueen/pseuds/OzQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stacey no longer feels cool enough for the Club.</p>
            </blockquote>





	in that same familiar way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thisisthemorning](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisthemorning/gifts).



> Thank you to both of my invaluable betas! Particularly for holding my hand through the entire process and then staying up with me to a ridiculous hour while I panic-wrote at the end. ♥
> 
> To my recipient, thank you for such fun prompts! I love these characters and I loved having such good direction when it came to writing them. I hope I've managed to tick a few boxes on that wishlist. ♥

> To: Kristy Thomas; Mary Anne Spier; Stacey McGill From: Claudia Kishi
> 
> Subject: Re: Re: Re: reunion
> 
> * * *
> 
> Hi guys
> 
> I can't do the w/e of the 20th I have an exhibition then. Can we make it the w/e after? That makes it 6 weeks away from this w/e and I can stay an extra day so I’m home for moms bday.
> 
> Love Claud x
> 
> PS my favorite thing about this email is the re-re-re-reunion subject line. I've been rapping out to it whenever I get a new message.

\- 

I was running late, and Stacey had probably arrived early, so she'd been sitting by herself for at least ten minutes by the time I slid into the seat opposite her. “Sorry,” I said. “Stopped to send a reply to Kristy.”

Stacey rolled her eyes; the reunion was a sore subject. “I still haven't answered her,” she said. “Do we have a theme now? Are we inviting a bunch of old clients as well?”

I rolled my eyes back at her. “No, and no. It's just a bit of fun. And it's only Mary Anne and Kristy. It's not like you don't know them.”

Stacey ran her thumb across her painted fingernails and glanced out the window. “I don't talk to them as much as you do.”

“They're just the same.” I reached for one of the menus propped between the napkin dispenser and a little vase of fake flowers. “I'm starving.”

“Why can't Kristy and Mary Anne just come to New York?” Stacey asked. “Why does it always have to be a big event in Stoneybrook?”

“Any event in Stoneybrook is a big event. Especially if Kristy's involved.” I tapped my finger against the laminated menu, trying to decide if I wanted waffles or the short stack.

“There was a reunion last year,” Stacey said pointedly.

“You weren't there,” I reminded her. “It's not a reunion if it's just me, Kristy and Mary Anne. That's just us visiting our parents and running into each other at the store.”

“Well, what about Dawn?” Stacey asked. “She gets out of these things all the time.”

“Jeez, what is this?” I asked, letting my menu fall back to the table. “Would it kill you to come and hang out in Stoneybrook for a day with the rest of us?”

“We see each other all the time,” Stacey muttered. “I don't understand why we have to organize a whole weekend around it every year.”

“We haven't all been in the same room together at the same time for ages,” I said patiently. “And it's only _one_ weekend a year, and it's with people who _like_ you.”

Stacey shrugged and slumped down in her seat.

She wouldn't talk about it anymore.

-

> To: Claudia Kishi; Mary Anne Spier; Stacey McGill
> 
> From: Kristy Thomas
> 
> Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: reunion
> 
> * * *
> 
>  
> 
> Let's meet at my house on the Saturday morning then. (27th.) Is 10 o'clock too early for everyone?
> 
> We can spend some time catching up – Mary Anne said she would bring her yearbooks, she still has them at home – and then we can have lunch around 12:30/1:00.
> 
> We can just have a lazy afternoon on Saturday watching movies or whatever but on Sunday we should definitely go to Brenner Field because SHS is hosting a car boot sale or something that day (David Michael was pretty sketchy on the details but he promised me it's happening that weekend) so maybe if we check it out we'll run into some old clients!
> 
> Kristy.

 -

 It was after closing when Stacey came by. I was wiping down tables and turning the chairs up so Larry could drag the mop across the floor.

“Hey,” she said, hands in her pockets, hair loose.

“Hey. Want something to eat?”

She shook her head and shifted her weight. “Busy night?”

“Nah.” I tipped another chair up, resting the seat on the top of the table, and moved to the next one. “What's up?”

“Was just on my way past.” She watched me wipe the next table down. “I checked my email today.”

“Oh, me too.” I rolled my eyes at her. “Three from Kristy.”

She gave me a brief grin. “Yeah.”

“Three weeks to go and she's kind of hyper.”

Stacey shrugged and looked down at the floor. “Are you going?”

She already knew I was. I figured this was her way of trying to join in without seeming too enthusiastic. “Yeah, I’m leaving on the Friday after work. Do you need a ride?”

“I don't know yet.”

I tipped another chair up and waited for her to say something else.

“Do you think you could put in a good word for me?” she asked, nodding towards the counter. She bit her lip and looked at me through her lashes, which always made my stomach flutter. “Do you think they'd hire me back for a bit? Just until I find something else, I mean.”

“I can ask. I’m not sure we're looking for anyone else right now though.”

“I thought maybe they'd need someone the weekend you're in Stoneybrook.”

My heart sank a bit, but I tried to keep the disappointment off my face. “Larry's got my shift covered.” I looked over my shoulder and found him leaning against the mop, flirting with Steph – married _and_ too good for him. “Larry!” I snapped.

He jumped and shot me a guilty look before he started sliding the mop back and forth against the floor.

“I'd do a better job than _that_ ,” Stacey whispered, and I couldn't help but like her again after that.

 -

> To: Claudia Kishi; Kristy Thomas; Stacey McGill
> 
> From: Mary Anne Spier
> 
> Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: reunion
> 
> * * *
> 
>  
> 
> Claud, is Stacey coming? She hasn't ever answered her emails and I’m not sure if she's been checking them.
> 
> Sharon gave me a great recipe for oatmeal cookies and I think they'll be OK for Stacey to eat. If she's coming.
> 
> Is she coming?
> 
> Love from Mary Anne xoxoxo

 -

It was almost midnight when there was a knock at my door. I didn't care how late it was, really – I never went to bed at a time my mother would approve of – but my right hand was tacky with half-dry paint and my left hand was holding a wedge of chocolate cake I couldn't put down if I didn't want it to taste like acrylic later.

“It's open!” I finally yelled.

The doorknob rattled. “No it's not!” Stacey called.

I cursed and took three wide steps around various pots and lids scattered over the drop-sheet I'd laid down. I put my cake down on the kitchen counter and unlocked the door.

“Hey,” Stacey said, slipping inside and closing the door behind her. “You busy?”

“Just painting. Want to see?”

She followed me into the spare bedroom. My apartment was pretty tiny and in need of a bit of renovation, but that just meant it wasn't a big deal if I got kind of careless with paint or clay sometimes. It suited me fine.

“My feet are killing me,” Stacey complained, circling around the paint tins on the floor. “I like your colors,” she said, looking at the canvas I had propped on my easel.

“Thanks. How was your first shift?”

She pulled a face. “Wish I was working at your place instead. Your boss is a lot nicer than mine.”

I smiled and shrugged. “Sorry. He said he'll keep you in mind if we lose anyone. And we're always busy over summer.”

She nodded. “It won't be for long anyway. I have an interview on the 29th for an accounting position.”

“Cool.” I smiled at her and hoped I didn't have chocolate cake in my teeth. “Good luck.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She was looking at my painting, but not really taking it in. “So, I think I’m going to give Stoneybrook a miss,” she said eventually. “My interview is the following Monday and I want to prep for it, you know?”

I picked up my brush again and rolled it between my fingers. “I thought you hated accounting,” I said. “Isn't that why you left Morgan's? And the other place?”

Stacey folded her arms. “Yeah. But it beats having no money. Have you seen some of the new season stuff at Bloomingdale's? It's killing me.”

“Yeah.” I dropped my brush again and rubbed my fingertips together, the paint smooth and dry on my skin now. “Have you at least emailed Kristy and Mary Anne, then? Told them you're not coming?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, you'd better,” I said. “Because I’m not doing it for you.”

“Fine.” She sounded affronted.

“Mary Anne really wants you to be there.” I kept looking at the painting in front of me. I didn't like it anymore.

“Don't be mad,” Stacey said. “It's not a big deal.”

“I don't see why you go out of your way every year to avoid it, if it's not a big deal.”

“Claud...”

“It's just us!” I said. I hated wanting her to come so badly. “It's just lunch at Kristy's, okay? With me and Mary Anne. And it wouldn't kill you to chip in to the conversation every now and again. I know you're reading the emails.”

“Yeah, I’m reading the emails!” she scoffed. “Mary Anne is just piling up funding for that animal charity she works for, and Kristy's got like a million things on the go at once, all of them succeeding to a level anyone else would find impossible, and you...”

“And me what?” I asked defensively, because I sure as hell wasn't as successful as Kristy or Mary Anne.

“You've got your own apartment and a steady job, and you're always entering your art in these amazing exhibitions and winning prizes and stuff...” She trailed off and kicked at a wrinkle in the drop sheet. “Whatever, okay? I don't want to go.”

I stared at her. “Stacey, I’m just a waitress. You've worked for some really big names...”

“For like, six months at a time,” she said, and she threw her hands up and stomped into the kitchen, a move which was made less dramatic because she had to circle around a stack of paint pots.

“Well, that's only because you get bored and go on to find something else,” I said, following her. “At least you've never been fired. I’ve been fired.”

“I don't _have_ anything,” Stacey said, leaning against my kitchen counter.

I glanced at my abandoned chocolate cake and figured it would be in poor taste to start eating it again just then. “You do so,” I said, forcing myself to look at Stacey again. “You have a lot to be proud of. And who do you think you have to impress this weekend, anyway? You think we're going to sit around and talk about our careers all afternoon?”

“They're going to ask.”

“So tell them about your interview! Kristy would _love_ an excuse to prep anyone for an interview. And Mary Anne will probably make you a good luck card or something.”

Stacey snorted and then covered her mouth. “Shut up.”

“She will,” I said, grinning. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her, completely forgetting I was covered in paint. I sprang back immediately. “Oh, my –”

Stacey brushed hastily at her shirt. “Is this going to come out?”

I clapped my hand to my forehead. “I'll replace it. I’m sorry.”

Stacey gave a tired laugh and ran her hands through her hair. “Don't worry about it.” She held her arms out and I hugged her again and rested my head against her shoulder.

“Please come,” I whispered. “It's never the same without you there. It doesn't matter if Dawn isn't there, or any of the others. We never miss any of them the way we miss you.”

Stacey was silent.

“Do it as a favor to me,” I said. “You owe me, like, nine favors.”

She sighed deeply against the side of my neck and I closed my eyes. It was always so easy for Stacey to call favors in – I found it so hard to say no to her. And she took advantage of that a lot.

“What time are you coming back on Sunday?”

“I'll head back after I have lunch with Mom for her birthday.”

“Can I catch a ride with you?”

“Sure.”

She squeezed me a little and I smiled.

 -

> To: Claudia Kishi; Kristy Thomas; Mary Anne Spier
> 
> From: Stacey McGill
> 
> Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: reunion
> 
> * * *
> 
> Sorry about the late reply, you guys.
> 
> The 27th is good for me but I will need to leave with Claud on Sunday afternoon because I have a job interview on Monday. So that means I will miss the Krushers reunion, sorry, Kristy.
> 
> I can't wait to see you guys. It's been a really long time between pizza parties and I think I'll be better off once we get one organized.
> 
> Luv always,
> 
> Stacey.

 


End file.
